I know there have been some adult novels written with children or teenagers as the main characters, but what exactly makes them more suited for the adult market rather than middle grade or young adult?
What Makes it Adult?
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That's a hard question.
I think there are a few factors. Style and pace are, I think, two of the biggest. Pace is often much quicker in YA books than it is in adult. There's also a tendency towards themes of growth and change in YA -- perhaps a little more obviously than in adult books.
I think, in many cases, people just sort of feel whether something is YA or adult. I recently reread the first chapter of Cujo for story research. It's told from a child's point of view but if you printed out those pages and gave them to me without any context, I would still know I was reading an adult book.
I think there are a few factors. Style and pace are, I think, two of the biggest. Pace is often much quicker in YA books than it is in adult. There's also a tendency towards themes of growth and change in YA -- perhaps a little more obviously than in adult books.
I think, in many cases, people just sort of feel whether something is YA or adult. I recently reread the first chapter of Cujo for story research. It's told from a child's point of view but if you printed out those pages and gave them to me without any context, I would still know I was reading an adult book.
I have an MG that I've been thinking about rewriting as an adult book. I don't know how doable it is, but I'm trying to get a feel of what types of changes I would need to make. I certainly understand when you say pacing is different. Adult books read so much "slower" than juvenile works.
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There's a thin line that grow's thinner all the time with the young adults of today becoming more savvy at everything including the type of material they read. But for a book to fit into one of two categories the voice will differ as teens do have their own special way of communicating. I agree with Kathleen. YA has to move at a quicker pace while adult books can be more wordy. That's why YA word counts are lower. As far as theme goes, however, these days almost everything is on the table.
MG and YA books deal with MG and YA issues (school drama, sex, drugs, divorce from child's perspective, coming-of-age, etc.).
Adult books deal with adult issues (responsibilities, holding down a job, raising a family, divorce from an adult's perspective, etc.).
Adult books deal with adult issues (responsibilities, holding down a job, raising a family, divorce from an adult's perspective, etc.).
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It's becoming a more and more subjective judgment, given the sophistication of the modern YA book and its audience. Audiences, I should say, as many old adults enjoy young adult fiction.
The Borders I frequent has the right idea. It's moved the YA section right next to the OA section, making it very easy for the YAs and OAs to wander back and forth between the two.
If I had to pin down the differences, I'd venture they depend on:
-- Sensibility, which is the author's attitude toward the material. What does he emphasize? Does he seem to be looking at the story from the distance of maturity or from the heat of adolescence? What words does the author choose? What are his cadences? Yeah, it could get into minutiae.
-- Voice, which springs the narrator's sensibility and mental/verbal quirks.
-- Inclusion and handling of adult characters.
At one point I was thinking that a novel centered on overwrought relationships (or "ships") could tip over to YA. But then, lots of OA fiction centers on overwrought relationships, a la Tolstoy's unhappy families. So I'm not relying on the ship factor so much, per se. Maybe the attitudes toward the ships, which would fall under sensibility and voice above.
The Borders I frequent has the right idea. It's moved the YA section right next to the OA section, making it very easy for the YAs and OAs to wander back and forth between the two.
If I had to pin down the differences, I'd venture they depend on:
-- Sensibility, which is the author's attitude toward the material. What does he emphasize? Does he seem to be looking at the story from the distance of maturity or from the heat of adolescence? What words does the author choose? What are his cadences? Yeah, it could get into minutiae.
-- Voice, which springs the narrator's sensibility and mental/verbal quirks.
-- Inclusion and handling of adult characters.
At one point I was thinking that a novel centered on overwrought relationships (or "ships") could tip over to YA. But then, lots of OA fiction centers on overwrought relationships, a la Tolstoy's unhappy families. So I'm not relying on the ship factor so much, per se. Maybe the attitudes toward the ships, which would fall under sensibility and voice above.
That sounds just a bit too tidy. An adult book narrated by a 14-year-old will still deal with 14-year-old issues, but there's another layer that puts it into another category.
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I'd say - don't worry about it. I'm revising a book with a 14-year old boy that some say is YA but which instinct tells me is adult. That instinct is very nebulous, so I just call my book mainstream fiction now. I'll let the agents and publishers sort the categorisation out, if the book is accepted.
Sensibility and voice.
Okay. Now we're getting somewhere. I imagine that's what Kathleen was responding to in reading Cujo. It was told through a kid's POV but with a style and tone that suggested something outside the realm of typical juvenile fiction.
Okay. Now we're getting somewhere. I imagine that's what Kathleen was responding to in reading Cujo. It was told through a kid's POV but with a style and tone that suggested something outside the realm of typical juvenile fiction.
Wasn't sure if that was a serious comment or not. There are adult books where a portion (or all) of the narrative is coming from a teen or child -- either the narrator at an early stage in their life or a character which is younger.
She's Come Undone
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (I've heard - I've not read the book but I have read the short story the book grew out of)
About a Boy (narrative split between the adult Will and the teenage Marcus)
The Body (which I haven't read but which comes up frequently in these discussions)
Just a couple of examples. Many more, I am sure.
That's a good way to look at it. I sometimes over-think a project to the point of paralysis.
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The complexity or "reading age" of the text can also be a factor. YA is normally written to an appropriate grade level, adult fiction need not be.
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Actually no, I'd say that an adult book about a 14 yearold still deals with adult issues, simply filtered through the lens of a 14 yearold. It's a complicated idea, and it doesn't mean that the 14 yearold isn't going through 14 yearold issues.
I have to ask though, why do you want to make your MG adult? I always worry when people say that that they feel limited by what they can discuss in MG. MG actually allows for a lot, and I feel sometimes people don't realise that. If you have a good reason to make your MG adult, go for it. But understand that there is a change, that you aren't writing about 14 yearold issues anymore, that they become a metaphor for greater things in life, for adult problems. You can't just write a complex MG with words you wouldn't usually use and ideas that kids wouldn't get. There is a whole shift in tone and subject matter.
Just my opinion, based on what I read as a YA and adult
Young adult books are more driven by situation than by characters--get off the island versus overcome complex internal issues. Internal issues in YA are typically more clear-cut; rival romances, addiction, rotten family issues. Adult books have more subtle conflicts. In short, the issues the readers are likely to be dealing with.
Of course this isn't completely true, as adult books are getting more straightforward as adult readers expect books to feel like movies (<rant> people tend to write screenplays instead of novels </rant>). It is indeed a thin line that changes, as has been said.
Young adult books are more driven by situation than by characters--get off the island versus overcome complex internal issues. Internal issues in YA are typically more clear-cut; rival romances, addiction, rotten family issues. Adult books have more subtle conflicts. In short, the issues the readers are likely to be dealing with.
Of course this isn't completely true, as adult books are getting more straightforward as adult readers expect books to feel like movies (<rant> people tend to write screenplays instead of novels </rant>). It is indeed a thin line that changes, as has been said.
The Body (which I haven't read but which comes up frequently in these discussions)
Is that Stephen King's work that was remade as Stand By Me?
Is that Stephen King's work that was remade as Stand By Me?
In no way do I feel that MG is limiting. It's a wonderful genre. But I've been rewriting this book for nearly three years now, and with each draft it seems to morph into something that's less and less MG in terms of voice, metaphor, symbolism and underlying themes. The basic bones of the original story are still there, but the skin it now wears is becoming markedly different.
Perspective, perhaps? Interestingly i was reading The Deathly Hallows earlier which (i think) transcends age but is very different being read by an adult than by a child; both take away something different from the same story.
I agree with this. I have read two YA books recently, back to back, that I had no idea were even YA books b/c the theme in each was so, well, adult. Very heavy stuff, especially the first book.
What is the age range usually for YA?
check out these two articles:
how teenagers are different from kids and adults: http://need2bpublished.blogspot.com/2009/08/writing-for-teenagers.html
and defining the teenage novel http://need2bpublished.blogspot.com/2009/03/so-what-is-teenage-novel.html This one discusses books about teens that are adult books, vs books about teens that are YA books
how teenagers are different from kids and adults: http://need2bpublished.blogspot.com/2009/08/writing-for-teenagers.html
and defining the teenage novel http://need2bpublished.blogspot.com/2009/03/so-what-is-teenage-novel.html This one discusses books about teens that are adult books, vs books about teens that are YA books
Really? See, there's no way the book I read...no way I'd let my daughter read it at 14. 16-18 maybe, but...it didn't feel like a YA at all.
Thanks for the links, Kitty. I'll definitely check them out.
Echo, I'm sure a lot of parents feel the same way as you. YA has become increasingly more encompassing of mature themes over recent years.
Echo, I'm sure a lot of parents feel the same way as you. YA has become increasingly more encompassing of mature themes over recent years.
Think The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
Deals with child rape/murder and the fallout. Yet the description of Heaven is very much from the imagination of a 14 year old girl.
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